Google has formally appealed the 2024 antitrust ruling, insisting that the success of its search service is not due to exclusive agreements, but entirely to product innovation.
According to a blog post cited by Tech Free Press, the search giant filed documents with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last week, challenging the district court’s conclusion that it monopolized the market through exclusive agreements, and insisting that its success is entirely based on product strength.
In its complaint, Google emphasized that the company’s success in surpassing competitors in the search field is due to continuous innovation, substantial investment, and “harder work.”
The document states that Apple’s choice of Google as its default search engine was a self-determined decision based on business considerations, not a forced one. Google argues that even with its dominant market position, it has never harmed competition itself; competitors always have the opportunity to offer Apple or Mozilla better deals, and there is no evidence that users would choose other search engines without an exclusivity agreement.
At the heart of this legal battle is the multi-billion-dollar annual partnership agreement between Google and Apple. This default search deal was key evidence in the U.S. Department of Justice’s previous lawsuit against Google.
A local court ruled that Google must open its search data to competitors, provide user interaction information, and begin distributing search results to competitors. These corrective measures officially took effect on February 3.
Google’s appeal seeks to have the appeals court completely overturn the aforementioned corrective measures. The company argues that Apple has always provided users with alternative browser options in Safari settings, and that the so-called “exclusivity” is essentially a strategy chosen by Apple based on its own commercial interests, rather than a result imposed by Google.
